The King Charles III He has his own particular idea of the coronation and wanted to mark his DNA in the ceremony while he could. Less long, more modern and above all short and not very sumptuous. But he couldn’t stop the homage the British public will pay him in time. An idea from the Archbishop of Canterbury, which his biographer Jonathan Dimbleby believes the King will find “repugnant”.
Dimbleby, a close friend of the monarch, the journalist to whom he confessed his adultery to Princess Diana with Camilla, said “the invitation to the nation to swear allegiance to Charles III was rather ill-advised”.
He told the BBC the decision appears to be “an initiative” by the Archbishop of Canterbury.
He “tribute of the people”, announced last week, replaces the traditional gentlemen’s tribute to the monarch. He said: “I swear that I will pay true allegiance to Her Majesty and her heirs and successors in accordance with the law. So help me God.”
It was then followed by the words: “God save King Charles. May the King live forever”. Organizers responded to criticism of the initiative by saying the tribute was an invitation rather than an “expectation or request”.
The authorized liturgy for the coronation rite states that the words are to be spoken together by “all who wish, in the Abbey and elsewhere”.
Dimbleby, who wrote and presented the 1994 ITV documentary Charles: The private man, the public role, he believed that the king would not want the public to pay homage to him.
“I can’t think of anything he would find more repugnant, he never wanted to be revered. As far as I know, he has never wanted anyone to pay homage to him, except in terms of derision, in jest,” Dimbleby said.
“He wants, I think, to hear that people are attending the event and I’m not sure how that could have happened. I don’t know for sure. But it seems that this is an initiative of the archbishop who, as we know, is strongly evangelical and thought it would be good if everyone had the opportunity to pay that tribute. I think he was well-meaning and rather reckless,” he said.
In a separate BBC interview, Welby was asked if he “went rogue” in introducing the tribute. The archbishop did not respond directly. But he said the service was an “important collaborative process,” adding, “There is no one person who can claim credit for this service.”
When Dimblebey, the son of one of the BBC’s most prestigious journalists, was asked if they were friends, he replied: “Yes. I’m wary of the “friend” label. But do I respect him very much and have affection for him? Very. I am royalist by default. I think it’s a prison. I’d hate to live there.”
She wrote an authorized biography of King Charles in the mid-1990s and also did the 1994 television interview with the then Prince of Wales, in which she admitted to her affair with Camilla.
In the interview with Charles, which came a year before Princess Diana’s interview with BBC reporter Martin Bashir, the prince was asked if he tried to be “faithful and honourable” with Diana.
He said, “Yes, absolutely.” But, under further questioning, Carlos added, “Yeah… until he broke beyond repair, we both tried.”
Dimbleby said he decided to ask Carlos about his infidelity in the 1994 interview because of “major speculation”.
Source: Clarin
Mary Ortiz is a seasoned journalist with a passion for world events. As a writer for News Rebeat, she brings a fresh perspective to the latest global happenings and provides in-depth coverage that offers a deeper understanding of the world around us.